U.S. Marine F-35C fighters in 1st combat missions

An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to Marine Wing Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations on Nov. 23, 2021 | Photo: U.S. Marine Corps/1st Lt. Charles Allen

The U.S. Navy announced last week that the F-35C squadron of the U.S. Marine Corps has undertaken its first combat missions. The aircraft operating from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln struck Houthi targets in the region of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

According to the U.S. Navy, ‘VMFA 314, assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen. The facilities housed conventional weapons, including anti-ship missiles. The Iranian-backed Houthis used these weapons to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.’

The Marines operate two F-35C squadrons, in addition to the squadrons operating the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing F-35B fighter.

The Lockheed Martin fifth generation F-35C stealth fighter model has longer, folding wings and, like the F/A-18, is designed to be launched from the catapults of aircraft carriers, allowing it to carry heavier payloads than the F-35B.

The F-35B’s first combat missions were in 2018 when they conducted airstrikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and ISIS in Syria from the Essex Amphibious Ready Group. The next year, U.S. Air Force F-35A fighters conducted their first combat mission against ISIS targets in Iraq.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ “Black Knights” VMFA-314 squadron is based in Miramar, California and converted from the F-18 to the F-35C in 2020, making them the ‘first fleet squadron in both the Navy and Marine Corps to operate the 5th Generation fighter aircraft.’ VMFA 314 was the first operational Marine squadron to fly the F-4 Phantom and F-18 Hornet and is the only deployed F-35C squadron in the Marine Corps.